County jail needs more room
Times are tough for others, but not for the sheriff. His jail is bursting at the seams. It's a growth industry, whether you like it or not.
Sheriff Lee Becker must accommodate prisoners ordered by the court. He has no discretion. If people are sentenced, the sheriff must house them.
Often this requires hauling the prisoner to another county, sometimes a county far away. It gets expensive.
He cannot refuse to accept a person ordered by the court to be incarcerated.
It's a tough job when the jail is full. It's tough to find a place to house them.
Marion County Jail is nearly 80 years old. It was remodeled about 20 years ago. For the past several years the brick "law enforcement center" on the courthouse square has been the location of the jail. And it's filled to capacity, stretched if possible.
Capacity is 12 prisoners a day. Often there is a need for 20 or more prisoners.
"The jail is completely inadequate," Undersheriff Bob Soyez said. District Judge Mike Powers agrees, he says the problem can be solved by hauling prisoners to far away jails or to provide adequate room locally. Basically, it's the sheriff's problem. More accurately, it's a problem for the public.
Chase County expanded jail facilities several years ago and has seen the jail at Cottonwood Falls become a growth industry for that community.
Chase County long ago decided that it was more prudent to build a new jail than to continue the cost of hauling prisoners elsewhere.
Jails at Council Grove, Emporia, Wichita and elsewhere are overburdened, like the one at Marion.
It appears that the question is not "do we need a larger jail" but whether to build a new one or expand the current facility.
That problem isn't one that's going to come up. It already has raised its ugly head.
Marion County is faced with other problems, but the jail problem is first and foremost when there are more prisoners than space to house them.
